“Have I thought about turning 50? Not really! I’m too busy in the weeds of life,” Colin Farrell remarks. “Plus, my spirit is younger than my age.”
Indeed. The star of “The Penguin,” “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Minority Report” seems to be only getting better with each passing year, and he’s figured out a few things along the way.
“Not in a heavy way, but I think age reminds you of what works and what does not work in life,” says Farrell, who turned 50 on May 31. “Take this career of mine: When critics or audiences tell me something doesn’t work, it still stings. Yet, when I sit at night and think about my life, my children, my peace and what matters to me, it feels like all such great blessings.”
“If that’s 50 — with a heavy helping of gratitude — then I’m happy,” he adds.
One midlife gift is the second season of his hit series “Sugar,” out this week on Apple TV. Farrell portrays John Sugar, an L.A. private eye whose backstory leads to a stunning twist: He is actually an extraterrestrial hiding in plain sight as he pursues his cases.
Season 2 finds Sugar taking on another missing person case: the brother of a local boxer in Koreatown. He must also contend with an endless search for his own missing sister and a citywide conspiracy.
“The big reveal in Season 1 was he’s not from Earth. I love when you can really surprise an audience,” says the actor, who has other shockers in store with “The Batman: Part II” in 2027, in which Farrell resumes his role as Oz Cobb/The Penguin. No word yet on if “The Penguin” will be renewed on TV.
The father of two sons, ages 22 and 16, Farrell lives in the Los Feliz neighborhood of L.A. and in a rustic cabin in the Sierra Nevada.
His good life advice:
Something extra
Farrell says the plot twist of playing an alien in “Sugar” gave him a thrill. “We had to keep the secret in stone,” he says. “It’s certainly a swing for the fences to play someone who is not from this planet. But the show was always designed with that reveal in mind.”
What can fans expect from a second season? “There is a bit of an expansion of the core story and about the mythology of his existence. It’s still very much a mystery that I hope has people paying close attention.”
‘Decent soul’
Farrell appreciates that his alien has good moral fiber. “I always arch these things toward decency,” he says. “At his core, this is a decent soul who really wants to move through the streets of Los Angeles and the Hollywood Hills in a good way. He is here to crush the powers of evil. He is here to find the answers, which is a very decent calling.”
Wins and losses
The series has received rave reviews. But there will always be ups and downs, the actor acknowledges, especially in such a long career. “You have your wins and losses,” says Farrell, a 2023 best actor Oscar nominee for “The Banshees of Inisherin.” “Honestly, I appreciate all of the opinions out there. You never know if it will go over with audiences while you’re making something. All I know is I love making ‘Sugar,’ so it feels great that the fans have come along with that appreciation.”
All alone
Loneliness is a throughline on “Sugar,” and Farrell can relate. “He’s the only one of his species here on Earth, while everyone else of his species goes back home,” the actor says. “He’s contending with a depth of loneliness he has never known before. I think so many people feel like they are alone. We all feel that way at times.”
Rest and recreation
His love of physical activity, including daily outdoor jogs, helps Farrell stay in shape. He’s just as serious about getting his rest. “The key is good sleep, which restores you,” he says, adding that mental health is also important. “I would tell my younger self not to worry so much, although young me would never have listened.”
Getting squiggly
“I’m the luckiest bloke alive because I am a survivor, “ he says. I look at my life now as not a straight line, but this squiggly thing. It’s squiggly lines that we all go through to get to this place where you finally feel good about you.”
